Just finished the guide wraps on a new 8′ 0″ 4 wt Hollow Built Signature Series Fly Rod. The next step is to apply several brush-on coats of varnish to the wraps, and then it’s on to the dip tank to varnish the complete rod. This rod will be going to Willa, a good friend in Iowa, when it gets completed. She has big plans to fish this rod on several Iowa spring creeks….it should be a great match for those waters.
Guide wraps ready for varnishing.
I just put the finishing touches on a batch of beautiful figured English Walnut reel seats for my bamboo fly rods. You never quite know how they will look from the starting blocks of walnut when you turn them down on the lathe and then apply the finish. Here is the “before” and “after” look.
Figured English Walnut Blanks Ready to be Turned on the Lathe
And the finished product
Mary Ann and I took advantage of the great weather this week and hit the Crooked River yesterday for some November Fly Fishing…yep, here in central Oregon we get to fly fish year around! She took out her 8′ 0″ 5 wt Spring Creek Series rod and I choose a 7′ 6″ 5 wt Freestone Series rod for the day. The white fish are spawning in the river now so small orange egg patterns were the go-to fly for the day. We caught an equal ratio of whitefish to rainbows, and lost track of how many fish came to the net. Here are a couple of photos of our day.
A couple of anglers happy to get on the river with our bamboo fly rods.
Fish On! A 14 inch rainbow.
A nice 12 inch rainbow that came to my net.
At the request of several folks, I’m now conducting one-on-one bamboo fly rod building classes at my shop. I recently completed a class with Charlotte, a local Bend resident. She worked very hard throughout the class and finished with a fantastic 8′ 0″ 6 wt bamboo fly rod from my Signature Series of rods. Here is her entire rod building process documented in photos.
Getting started selecting the bamboo
Marking the culm for splitting
Making the first split
Making big strips into small strips
Running Bamboo Strips through the Bellinger Beveller
Hand planing strips to final dimensions
Gluing the cork rings on the finished blank for the grip
Wrapping the winding check and guides
And the finished bamboo fly rod
Testing her new bamboo fly rod out on the Fall River
Mary Ann and I got the chance to fish the Rogue River in Southern Oregon last week for a few days. We had a great time at Morrison’s Lodge where they have a great fly fishing operation…and a wonderful lodge also. We got out with one of their great guides, Stuart Warren, one day and threw for half pounders with our 10′ 6″ bamboo trout spey rods. Here is a little of our action:
Casting my bamboo trout spey rod.
Fish On!
A nice half pounder with my guide, Stuart.